About 80 members of MGEU Local 249 – WRHA Health Sciences Centre Security – have been without a new contract for three
years, but the employers’ latest offer didn’t go far enough in
addressing severe retention problems. Tonight, a significant majority of members voted down the offer.
In March 2015, Local representatives presented a
strong case for a wage adjustment for HSC Security Officers to the
Labour Relations Secretariat. But those efforts fell on deaf ears as no
special adjustment was provided. The employer put
forward an offer to the Local 249 Bargaining Committee earlier this
month, but it did little to address the growing wage gap between HSC
security and other security services in the Province.
The Bargaining Committee brought the offer to
members with a recommendation to reject, and they responded with a resounding “no” vote.
Aside from the wage gap, HSC Security Officers
are experiencing ever-increasing violence in their jobs, while
responsibilities required to complete their daily duties continue to
climb. Compared with security teams in other Manitoba hospitals,
the HSC Security team continues to work in one of the most challenging
environments as they work to keep over 7,000 employees and 13,000 visitors every day safe at Manitoba’s largest hospital.
The next step for the Local 249 Bargaining
Committee is to request the employer return to the bargaining table in
order to negotiate a fair deal.